Diess quietly orchestrated a boardroom coup as he was rebuilding namesake brand

BERLIN—Volkswagen AG’s board ousted Chief Executive Matthias Müller and replaced him with Herbert Diess, who quietly orchestrated a boardroom coup while he was rebuilding the company’s namesake brand.

The move comes nearly three years after Volkswagen admitted to rigging 11 million diesel-powered vehicles to cheat on emissions tests, sparking a large recall and criminal prosecutions, while costing the company more than $25 billion in fines, penalties, consumer compensation and legal fees.